> --- In meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com, medit8ionsociety
> <no_reply@y...> wrote:
> > Habitual criticism of others is a way
> > your ego feeds itself.
> > Habitual compassion towards others
> > builds your spiritual higher bodies.
> >
> > Kir Li Molari
>
> "...establish a relationship with COMPASSION..."
> Gene Poole (see the MAP Read Me in the Files
> section to your left)
>
> (At least semi-)Seriously, some of the most valuable
> pointings I have found helpful for spiritual development
> have dealt with the concept of recognizing the negative
> (taking your peace away) characteristics you see in yourself,
> and replacing them with their opposite (those that bring you
> peace). For instance, when you recognize yourself being filled
> with desire, replace that with contentedness. Hate with love,
> impatience with patience, etc. Some of the best examples I have
> found are in the teachings of the Dalai Lama (see his technique
> at http://www.meditationsociety.com/week6.html ); in the
> teachings of Swami Sivananda, who suggests immediately going to
> the opposite feeling/action as soon as you see yourself
> experiencing negativity; and Dr. Hawkins whose splendid
> Map of Consciousness lays out what I will call beneficial
> actions/feelings (rating over 200) and those that aren't
> (under 200 on the Map). Acting with compassion and humility
> will give you good karma, and not doing so will (always?)
> end in suffering.
> Meditation is an excellent methodology for witnessing these
> negative, draining, bad karma bringing habitual behaviors.
> The more and more you replace them with righteous selfless
> actions, the more and more they will become your habitual
> behaviors, and you will be more and more (as St. Bob Marley
> put it) "...happy, happy, happy, all the time, time, time."
> Peace and blessings,
> Bob

Where do those feelings of desire, hate and impatience go when they
are ousted by contendedness, love and patience? I suppose it's all in
how you look at it, but if we're still playing for points on the
karma scale, or the need to feel peace, love and happiness all the
time, time, time, then aren't we really still at square one?

It's like a civil uprising, let's say, a regime change: where does
that regime go when it is abruptly removed by another regime?
Underground, where it can plan the next uprising. An alternate is to
think of managing one's feelings as a supreme act of self-diplomacy.

I think the compassion Gene proposes is not the 'this for that'
compassion of supplanting uncomfortable feelings with comfy new ones,
but the compassion that sees those uncomfortable feelings for what
they are, and even, what positive contributions they make. Of course,
Gene is welcome to correct me on my assumptions.